Mistletoe Moments
by SimplyTosh
Summary: Christmas is here and Nagato has decided to throw a party to celebrate the holiday's and raise the spirits of it's members. Note that this is a nonprofit, fan-made set of short stories. The characters do not belong to me.
1. In The Beginning

_**Side Note:** _Feel free to replace the name 'Natasha' with your given name or whatever name you would like. :)

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><p><em><strong>Mistletoe Moments<strong>_

Leader-sama stepped into the room and looked around at the members of the Akatsuki; they looked expectantly back at him. "As you know, tomorrow is Christmas, and since none of you seem to have a significant other to date, we'll be having a party here." At this, Hidan looked away and began muttering a long string of abusive words. "Hidan, shut up," Pein-sama snapped. "Given your religious objections, you don't have to help, but the rest of you will all need to help get ready."

"Why should I have to help? I don't care about Christmas; it's just another unnecessary expenditure." Kakazu glared at the Leader.

"Fine, then. You just go play Scrooge in . . ."

"Huh? Who?"

"It's a reference to a 19th century British story about a man who . . . Oh, forget it; you people have no culture whatsoever. Just go count money in your room like you always do."

"I'll have you know, if I didn't keep track of the finances, we'd . . ."

"And no talking back, or I'll assign you a party chore after all!"

Kakazu immediately shut his mouth. The rest of the Akatsuki members waited to hear what they would have to do. "Okay then, Sasori, you take care of setting up and decorating the Christmas tree. Itachi, you're in charge of getting the KFC. Kisame, you're hunting down a Christmas cake; no strawberries, please. Zetsu, I want you to get some poinsettias to make the place look more festive. And even though I know I'm going to regret this, Deidara, you're in charge of party games."

"Keep it cheap," chimed in Kakazu.

"Oh, that'll be easy, un." Deidara glanced merrily at you. "We'll just play spin the . . ."

"No kissing games!" thundered Pein-sama.

". . . Okay." Deidara looked a little disappointed.

"What should Tobi do? Tobi's a good boy!" sang out Tobi.

"Oh . . . Tobi . . . Just make some paper chains or something to, you know, decorate the place." Leader-sama turned and started to leave.

"Umm . . . Leader-sama?" A small voice came from the sofa. You hated to draw attention to yourself; you had only been in the Akatsuki for a month now, and so far the only thing which you hadn't messed up had been cooking dinner. Still, you might get in more trouble if you didn't have a job for the party. "Umm, what should I do?"

Leader-sama glanced back at you. "Oh, Natasha . . . Why don't you just be a floater? You can help whoever needs help." And with that, he left the room.

_**So, who did you help?**_


	2. Deidara

**YOU DECIDE TO HELP DEIDARA:**

"Hoy, Deidara-sempai," you called as you ran out the door after the blonde-haired man. "Wait up! Don't you think I'd better come with you?"

He glanced over his shoulder without pausing. "Oh, it's my little kohei, un. Yeah, girl! Sure you can come with me," he grinned. "But I'll warn you now, we're flying, un!"

"Flying?" You had caught up to his side, but now came to a stop, your stomach doing a miserable flip-flop. "Why? Can't we just go into one of the nearby villages?" As he had continued to walk, you had to run to catch up again.

"And what kind of party games are they gonna have? Pin the tail on the donkey, un? No fun! We've gotta go to the city and find some real games, yeah!"

You both came to a stop in a clearing, and Deidara pulled out some clay, while you tried to fight down the rising panic. You hated heights. You were probably the only ninja in all of history who had a problem with leaping through the treetops, never mind being hundreds and hundreds of feet in the air on something that wasn't even attached to the ground. It wasn't that you couldn't do it; you actually had excellent chakra control. (In fact, you probably could have hung yourself upside down from a twig by just your big toe, had you wanted to do so!) But you didn't want to do something like that; for some reason, you just had a very difficult time trusting your chakra.

Deidara's hands spit out a beautiful little sculpture of an owl, which he tossed onto the ground. He then made a hand sign and spoke a word, which caused the bird to grow large enough to carry the two of you. He leaped lightly up onto its back and motioned for you to follow. "C'mon, Natasha-chan! It's easy, un! You don't even have to ride it standing up! Just stick some chakra in your bum and glue yourself on; you'll be fine, un!"

You gulped, and then, taking a deep breath, leaped gracefully onto the sculpture; your legs were only shaking a little. "I can do this," you thought to yourself. "I'm sick of being such a scaredy cat. I can definitely do this." You sat down cross-legged and concentrated chakra in your rear-end, outer thighs, outer calves, outer feet, anywhere that had contact with the surface of the bird.

Deidara sat down lazily behind you and leaned over your shoulder. "I could always hold onto you, to make sure you didn't fall off," he snickered in your ear.

"Tease!" You smirked and then ignored him, instead placing your palms on the bird and gluing them down with chakra as well. When you basically had a chakra induced death grip on the owl's back, you closed your eyes and tried to calm down, taking deep breaths and continuing to chant in your head: "I can do this. I CAN do this."

Deidara only shrugged, and then spoke the word which caused the bird to take off. You could feel the movements of the bird's wings beneath you, almost as if it was made of muscle rather than clay. The wind began to pick up, and you felt the owl lifting into the air. You were relatively certain that your stomach had opted to stay behind on the ground; you weren't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but you continued to tell yourself: "I can do this. I'm gonna be fine! I can definitely do this!"

Deidara watched your stiff back for a bit and then got out some clay. He fashioned a tiny spider, which he placed gently on your left shoulder. He then tapped your right shoulder. You turned to the right with your eyes still screwed shut tightly.

"What is it?" you asked.

"Katsu," you heard him whisper. *BOOM* went the spider!

"Arghh!" you yelled, eyes flying open, and you twisted quickly to the left (unknowingly pulling your hands off of the bird) to just catch sight of a shower of green sparks floating gently down to your shoulder.

Deidara was laughing like crazy. "Too bad, un! Guess you missed the art show this time!"

You twisted around further to glare at him. "Deidara-sempai, I thought you promised not to explode art on me anymore! You know I love most of your explosions, but when they're right up in my face like that it kinda freaks me out!"

"Yeah, I know," he grinned at you. "But I got you to open your eyes, un! And you even quit hanging on with your hands!" You glanced down and discovered that your hands were resting lightly on your knees. "See, I told you you'd be fine, un!"

You gave him a small smile, and then decided that as long as your eyes were open, you might as well look around. You didn't look down, of course; you definitely weren't ready to do that yet. But you looked up into the sky at the clouds and the sun. And while you breathed in the beauty that surrounded you, you thought about Deidara.

You had become friends with Deidara pretty soon after coming to the Akatsuki. As he was just a year and a half older than you, the two of you had fallen into playing at a freshman and upperclassman type of relationship, which you found comforting and familiar. And then, he was always pulling pranks and joking around (except for when he was being deadly serious about his art), which reminded you of the best friend you had left behind. Of course, you had fallen easily back into the role you were used to playing: before coming to the Akatsuki, you had either helped your friend play pranks, or acted as his conscience and kept him from playing the pranks that might've proven dangerous or gotten him in trouble - yes, you were the responsible one. You did the same thing for Deidara, but you often wondered if he found it a bit annoying at times . . . or maybe all of the time.

"On the other hand," you thought as you smiled into the deep blue sky, "he is a great person to have around when you're afraid: he never sympathizes with you; he just teases you until you forget what was worrying you in the first place!"

When the two of you finally arrived in the city, Deidara landed on top of a parking garage, where the two of you got off. He then sent the bird back into the air, where it exploded with a thunderous boom and a halo of red and gold. He smirked at you. "See what a good boy I am? I didn't even blow up the garage!"

"You sound like Tobi-kun," you giggled.

"Oh yeah, that's right," he said sarcastically. "Deidara's a good boy, un!"

"Yes, yes he is," you laughed as you stood on tiptoes to gently pat Deidara's head (a gesture which you often used with Tobi). "So, do you have any kind of an idea what you're looking for in this huge place?"

"Yep, I know just where to go! Come on, un!" He grabbed your hand and pulled you to the stairs so that you could run down to street level.

A short walk found you in front of a huge electronics store with Deidara opening the door and pulling you in. You glanced around, noting the prices on things, and asked: "Deidara-sempai, what are we getting here?"

"We're getting a Wii, yeah!"

"What?" Your jaw dropped and your eyes widened. "We . . . we can't get a Wii; they're way too expensive. Kakazu-san will kill us!"

"Aw, come on, un! They have a lot of great multi-player games for the Wii; it'd be like a Christmas gift to everybody! Kakazu-san won't mind!" He smirked, already picking up extra remotes and the Mario Party game.

You wavered in the face of his enthusiasm, looking around the games section. "Hey, they actually have DDR for the Wii!" Your face lit up. "Oh sempai, do you think Kakazu-san would let us get that too?"

"Now you're getting it, yeah!" He glanced at the box. "I heard that one isn't as good as some of the other versions, but sure, why not?" He looked over everything in his arms, and then looked around the section again. "Have we got everything we need?" He handed you the tower of boxes and reached into his pouch for some clay. "Now, I'll just leave them a pretty, little bird and..."

"NO!" you shouted as you realized he was planning on blowing up the store.

"Why'd you shout, un?" He froze with his hand still in the pouch, staring at you.

"No blowing up the store," you hissed. "Bad plan." You knew the explosion of a block-long mega-store would bring too much attention, but when Deidara looked at you quizzically, you only said: "If you blow the store up, how are we gonna get more games?"

"Well yeah, that's a good point," he said, pouting just a little, "but if we pay for all of that stuff, Kakazu-san really will kill us when we get back."

You were rapidly running through your options. You still had some money from your old life before the Akatsuki kidnapped you. You kept it hidden on you at all times, because you rather thought that Kakazu might take it for the Akatsuki coffers if he knew about it. You had been hoping to save it for an emergency, but you supposed that keeping Deidara from blowing up half of downtown might count for that.

"Here, you hold these and close your eyes," you said, handing the boxes back to Deidara. You then lifted up your shirt and got out your money.

"Hey, where'd you get all that money, un?"

You looked up to see him staring at you. You blushed a deep red. "Hey! Didn't I tell you to close your eyes?"

"I did close 'em . . . mostly!"

He gave you a big grin, and you blushed a still deeper red; and then sighed, looking down at the pile of money. "This is money from my old life, and I'm not going to have it anymore 'cause I'm spending it all on your Wii, so don't feel like you have to go blabbing about it to Kakazu-san."

"Are you sure that's okay?" He actually sounded concerned. "Are you sure you shouldn't keep it? I would never tell Kakazu-san about it. I promise, un."

You looked up at him; he looked oddly concerned as well. But you only gave your head a shake. "Nah, it's okay. After all, we're in charge of the party games, and this is one of the best there is! C'mon, let's pay for this stuff and get outta here!"

On the flight back, you found that you were able to relax a bit more: you only concentrated your chakra in your rear, and you only had to chant to yourself and do deep breathing a little: just at the beginning when the bird (which seemed vaguely swan- or goose-like this time) was taking off. It helped that it was getting dark: there was a brilliant sunset in the west, but the stars were coming out in the east, and all you could see of the ground (had you chosen to look down) was the lights of houses. It also helped that you had already flown once and been okay with it; success was a great way to counteract fear. But, once again, what helped the most was that Deidara was in a mood for distractions. He made one sculpture after another - mostly birds and insects - and sent them flying off to the front and sides of the big bird, where they would explode like fireworks with a clap of thunder and a shower of colorful sparks.

"They're beautiful," you breathed. You glanced at him over your shoulder and decided to take your courage in hand and ask the question which had been worrying you. "Hey, Deidara-sempai, do you find it annoying?"

"'It', un? What're you talking about? Tobi?" He sent one tiny bird flying straight up, where it erupted into blue and silver sparks. You tipped your head further back to get a better view.

"No, me," you said. The bird suddenly hit a small pocket of air, causing you to fall backwards. Deidara didn't seem to notice that your head was now in his lap, however. He catapulted another sculpture into the sky.

"Why would I find you annoying, un? You're my cute, little kohei, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but . . . I mean . . ." You decided to leave your head where it was, since he didn't seem to mind, and it gave you a better view of the art exhibition. "I do seem to . . . thwart you . . . a bit . . . Don't you get annoyed when I tell you not to do things?"

"Oh, you mean like not letting me blow up the store?"

"Yeah."

He sent up a sparrow-like bird while he pondered. It exploded with a boom which echoed for a long time after wards. "I know you were just thinking that an explosion that size would bring a lot of police or ninja or the army or something, and that might've made Leader-sama really angry, un. I didn't think you were trying to keep me from creating or anything."

"Well, yeah, this time. But it's not like it's the first time I've kept you from blowing something up or playing a prank." You started to sit back up so that you could turn and look directly at him, but he laid an arm across your shoulders, keeping you pinned in place.

"Oh, you mean like last week when you wouldn't let me blow up Kisame-sama's sword? Of course, that wasn't even really a prank; I was just pissed at him and I wanted to make something explode. I wasn't even thinking about my art, un."

"In that case, it's a really good thing I stopped you," you snirked.

"'Cause Kisame-sama would've killed me?"

"No, 'cause you would've been really upset if you blew something up and didn't appreciate its fleeting glory!"

Deidara finally looked down at you, surprised, and then he threw back his head and laughed long and hard. When he quit laughing, he looked down at you with a smile. "No, Natasha-chan, I definitely don't find you annoying, un. It's not like you're trying to keep me from creating my art or anything; you're just trying to keep me out of trouble." He leaned down over you until his face blocked out the sky. "It almost feels like someone cares about me, un." He then placed his soft lips on yours with a smile.

An upside-down kiss is a very strange thing: it felt nice, but your lips just didn't quite mesh the way they're supposed to do, and your noses kept bumping each others chins! However, you didn't care. You loved the way his warm and friendly lips were caressing yours, making you feel loved and accepted.

You broke the kiss just long enough to whisper up to him: "I'm glad, Deidara-sempai, because that means you know that I care about you!" You then reached up to twine your arms around his neck, bringing his lips back to your own, opening your mouth so that your two tongues could tangle together happily as the giant bird flew into the sunset.

**Your kiss was upside-down, but extremely loving.**


	3. Hidan

**Warning: **For those who don't know... Hidan Has a foul mouth. Lol.

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><p><strong>YOU DECIDE TO GO TALK TO HIDAN:<strong>

You slowly walked down the hallway towards Hidan's room, hoping that you wouldn't be interrupting a ritual (which just might get you killed) and wondering why you were doing this again. You had discovered, during the past month, that there was something about Hidan which made you do things which you knew you shouldn't; what was it about him that made you behave so nonsensically? His religion was downright terrifying, and the way he walked around bare-chested, cussing up a storm, was so overtly sexual it made you very uncomfortable. And yet you couldn't seem to stop yourself from teasing him, flirting with him (even though you knew that his religion forbade him women), and generally getting in his face. You supposed that it was a miracle that he hadn't sacrificed you to Jashin already!

You eventually came to his door, slowly brought up your hand, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked firmly.

"Who the fuck is it?"

"It's me, Natasha."

You heard some angry-sounding muttering. ". . . Come in, then."

You opened the door slowly and stepped just inside, closing it behind you. You glanced around and decided that you didn't want to look too closely at the stains on the floors and walls. Hidan was sitting on his bed, reading a book. "Umm, hello, Hidan-sama." You found you were blushing a little; after all, you had never been alone with him before.

"Yeah, so what the fuck do you want?" He hadn't even looked up from his book.

"Well . . ." Of course, you hadn't even thought through what you wanted to do or say once you got into his room. "I guess I just wanted to know why you won't come to the Christmas party."

"'Cause I'm not a fucking Christian, duh." He sounded angry.

"Well, none of us are Christian either. We're just doing the secular part: you know, food and decorations and the fun stuff." You took a few steps further into the room.

"Well, that's all too fucking frivolous for a follower of Jashin. You aren't of my religion, so you wouldn't fucking understand."

He still had not looked at you, and you found yourself starting to get annoyed. Your pulse quickened as excitement began to stir in your blood; you knew you were about to push the envelope again. You walked confidently over to the bed and leaned over, sticking your face right up in Hidan's face and cutting off his view of what he was reading.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growled at you.

"Oh, I just wanted to see what was keeping you from giving your full attention to me!" You smirked at him and grabbed the book from his hands. It was, oddly enough, a book of poetry. Oh, this was too good to be true: perfect fodder for teasing him senseless! You opened the book randomly and began reading a poem out loud.

"Gimme the fucking book back," Hidan spat out as he tried to grab the book from you. Luckily, your two main characteristics as a ninja were phenomenal speed and unusual strength; you were perfectly made for games of keep-away!

"Nope," you answered blithely as you turned your back on him and continued to read the poem. (It was a rather pretty, pastoral piece about snow.)

"Give it!" he grunted as he stood up, looming over you and obviously hoping to grab it from over your head.

"Uh-uh!" You kicked out behind you and made contact with his chest, sending him sprawling on the bed. Noticing this, you leaped and turned in one smooth movement, planting yourself firmly on his lap while still reading aloud. (It was a very long poem!)

"You fucking bitch, return the damn book and get off of my fucking lap!"

"Hush, Hidan-sama. Can't you see that I'm trying to read?" You scooted up so that you were sitting more on his chest, pinning his arms with your knees. "That should keep him supine," you thought to yourself with a smile.

"If you don't get the fuck off me, I'm going to fucking hurt you!"

"Oh no, I don't think so." You dug your knees hard into his arms as he squirmed beneath you while you finished reading the poem about snow and started on the next one, which was about autumn leaves.

"You don't think so? You don't fucking think so?" He ground his teeth. "I'll drink your fucking blood, link with you and stab myself in the heart until you are fucking dead, you little bitch! Jashin would fucking love that!"

"Nope, I don't think so," you stated calmly, although inside you were a bubbly mass of excitement, loving every minute of your own audacity.

He wriggled around again, trying to get you off of him, and finally said, in exasperation: "Do you have any idea how much blood Jashin is going to require of me because of this? How many fucking rituals I'm going to have to do?"

Genuinely surprised to hear this, you looked at him over the top of the book. "Why would Jashin require you to do anything, Hidan-sama? After all, none of this is of your choosing. I'm the one making the choices here; I'm the one who decided I liked you, and I'm the one taking action." You blushed a deep red as you realized, for the first time, the truth of what you were saying. Hidan's lovely pink-violet eyes widened and a faint rose-pink stained his cheeks; you almost chuckled when you noticed that: who would've thought a man with such a colorful vocabulary would still be able to blush such a vibrant pink color!

As he remaineded silent, you decided that you had better get all you could while the getting was good. You leaned over, laying the book beside his head, and taking care to keep your body weight centered on his chest. You stopped when you were only an inch away from his mouth; you could feel his warm breath coming in quick, soft gasps against your skin, and you noticed his heart was pounding beneath you. His hands were gripping the sheets of his bed tightly in each of his fists. You looked deep into his eyes.

"You can't stop me, so please, just let me do what I want, just this once," you whispered. And then you closed your eyes and planted a kiss on his sweet, soft lips. You moved your lips against his, drinking in every moment of contact; after all, you might never get a chance like this again. You knew he was excited too, but you were unsure if his excitement came from pleasure or from pure unadulterated rage.

With each moment that passed, you found yourself growing more daring, running your tongue along his lower lip and then pressing it through and into his mouth. Your hands were caressing his cheeks, his shoulders, running through that glorious silver hair. Some part of you was conscious that you mustn't get too lost in the kiss; you mustn't lose control. Then, suddenly, as if he had been pushed to the limits of his own control, he began to respond to the kiss, his tongue tangling with yours and then swooping into your mouth to glide along your teeth and probe the soft areas. You gloried in his response for a moment, moaning softly. But then some dim warning bell sounded at the back of your brain: if he was participating, then he was breaking the rules.

You suddenly broke away from the kiss and jumped to the middle of the room, leaving him looking bereft and a little lost. He sat up, looking at you, and you were drawn in by the longing in his eyes. You looked away hastily, striving to regain your cocky, confident attitude. "So anyway, if Jashin has a problem with any of that, you can just tell him to come talk to me, Hidan-sama." You gave him a quick glance, and then turned to walk out of his room.

"You know, I'm still going to have to do a ritual," he called out. You stopped with your hand on the door handle and looked at him over your shoulder. "Because I was fucking happy with every last, little fucking thing you did," he growled, blushing deeply. Suddenly you felt very happy too. You gave him a blinding smile, turned the handle, and walked out.

**Your kiss was exciting, and completely under your control!**


	4. Itachi

**YOU DECIDE TO HELP ITACHI:**

You fell into step beside Itachi as he headed over the mountain path to the village which had a KFC. "Hey, Itachi-san," you said brightly, smiling up at him. "Would you mind if I helped you pick up the KFC?"

"Hn," he said, staring straight ahead. "I don't need help. I'm only picking up a large bucket of fried chicken and bringing it back. That hardly requires two people."

"No . . . I suppose not." You searched through your head frantically for another reason you needed to come with him. "Would you let me accompany you as a kindness to me?" He turned his head to stare down at you in disbelief. You hastened to explain yourself. "It's just that I know that if I stay there, one or more of them will try to get me to 'help' them, which will end up meaning that I do the whole job by myself." You looked down at the ground, cheeks glowing red with shame. It was true that, since joining, you found yourself doing more than your fair share of the chores. The others would pester you (Tobi), threaten you (Hidan or Sasori, depending on the day), or even cajole you (Deidara) into doing their chores for them. You hated it, but you didn't know how to stop it.

"You really need to toughen up and learn how to say no firmly," Itachi said, staring straight ahead again. "It's not difficult."

"Yes, I know," you said in a small voice. The two of you walked in silence for a little ways. "So, Itachi-san, may I accompany you?" You really didn't want to go back to headquarters, but you also really didn't want to push your company upon Itachi without his permission.

He glanced around to see where the two of you were, and then said "Eh, you've come this far; I guess you can come the rest of the way."

"Thank you so much, Itachi-san." You gave him a small, grateful smile which he didn't see because he was looking straight ahead yet again. You realized that this probably meant that, as per usual, he wasn't interested in conversation, and you lapsed into silence, feeling both a little guilty and a little happy because you were with Itachi.

The truth was, you were always at your most comfortable when you were around Itachi. Had the others realized this, they would have been flabbergasted. After all, most of the other members were either terrified of him or angry with him, or some combination of both. His partner, Kisame, was the only one to attempt to have any kind of friendship with him, and even he knew enough to leave Itachi alone most of the time. You had heard them talk about how cold Itachi was, and how cruel. You had heard the story of how he had killed his entire clan, save his little brother. You had heard about his Mangekyou Sharingan ability, wherein he could torture a person for days in the blink of an eye. And yet even after hearing these horror stories, the truth was that you only felt any happiness in your new life when he was nearby. Why was that, you wondered as you walked in silence beside him.

You thought back to the day you had been kidnapped by Itachi and Kisame. You really weren't a good match for the Akatsuki: you were much too kindhearted. (Of course, the other members all appreciated your sweetness, but they were quick to use it to their own advantage.) Still, you were possessed of a freakish, super-human strength and speed, and being in need of someone to replace Orochimaru, Leader had made the decision to bring you in anyway, believing that with training, you could become one of the most useful members of the Akatsuki. Consequently, Itachi and Kisame had grabbed you on your way home from training. You hadn't even gotten to say good-bye to your parents (although you supposed you should be grateful that they hadn't killed your parents).

You had gone with them without a fight, having little self-confidence and a tendency to do whatever anyone told you to do without question. Still, when they finally stopped for the night at a small inn in the middle of nowhere you couldn't help but start crying. Kisame had gone out to find some food; Itachi had sat down with a book to read while keeping an eye on you (just in case you tried to escape, although you had shown no signs of running so far). And you had just crawled into bed, pulled the covers over your head, and let yourself give in to the tears.

After a few minutes, you had noticed a sound: a low, soothing melody. You peeked out from under the covers to look at Itachi. He was sitting by the window, apparently engrossed in his book, and singing an old lullaby softly. It was one you remembered from when you were little; your mother used to sing it to you when you had an upset stomach. And now, as then, the lullaby had worked its familiar magic: soon you had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep. 'Perhaps," you thought as you trudged along the path, "that is why I feel happiest and safest around Itachi-san; because I know that, although his heart is encased in ice, inside there is some kindness."

The trip to the village was quiet and uneventful. At the KFC, Itachi purchased a large bucket of Original Recipe, and then the two of you turned around and headed back to headquarters. At this point, bored with the silence and feeling just a little down, you decided to gather your courage and try to start a conversation with Itachi. "Itachi-san?" you began.

"Hn?"

"Well . . . um . . . I was . . . I was just wondering why you don't sing more often. You have such a beautiful voice."

He favored you with another quick glance of disbelief, and then sighed. "So you did hear me that night after we kidnapped you."

"Um-hmm!" You gave him an unexpectedly brilliant smile, but you weren't sure if he noticed it. "I love that song. My mother always used to sing it to me when I was little. It always put me right to sleep!"

"Yeah, I used to have to sing that song to my little brother when he was a baby." You were surprised to hear him mention his brother, but when you looked at his face, it was as emotionless as ever. "As I recall, it always put him right to sleep too."

"I'm not surprised. You have a magic voice, Itachi-san; it's so sweet and soothing!"

This comment earned you a slight chuckle. "You do realize that I'm an S-class criminal, right? No one should ever find anything sweet or soothing about me. I'm supposed to scare the hell out of people."

"Well, I suppose, but . . ." Itachi suddenly threw out his arm to stop you from moving forward. "We're being followed," was all that he said.

You paused and tensed, listening carefully for anything out of the ordinary. All was quiet, except for two winter birds calling back and forth in the distance. It occurred to you that one rarely heard birds calling at this time of year, and as the thought sunk in, your panic began to rise.

Suddenly, the two of you were surrounded by five shinobi, all intent upon Itachi. They weren't from the village you had just visited (which was not a ninja village), but they had obviously seen you while you were there. It was also apparent that they knew exactly who Itachi was.

You didn't hear any of what the leader of the group was saying. You were too intent on trying to control your fear, and failing miserably. You could only hear the blood rushing through you ears as your heart pounded painfully against your ribs and your stomach twisted and gurgled; you felt certain you were going to throw up. Worse than that, you were absolutely positive that you were going to die, and that there was nothing you could do about it. You didn't want to die, but you were powerless. And then, something unexpected happened.

You became aware that kunai were hurtling towards Itachi from every direction. Not having been in any battles with Itachi, you had no idea of how incredibly skilled he was. All you knew was that he was about to be hit and possibly killed, and somewhere deep inside, a safety catch you hadn't even known existed was suddenly taken off: these men might kill you, but no one was going to hurt the one person who had shown you a little kindness in the midst of the terrifying world of which you were now a part.

Literally in the blink of an eye, you had run around Itachi and caught every single kunai. You moved so quickly, no one else could even see you; to you, it seemed that the kunai had suddenly stopped in mid-air. You then dropped the kunai and went after the shinobi. Two you grabbed by the shoulders and ran them into each other; you thought only to knock them out, but being unaware of your own power, you ended up fracturing their skulls, killing them instantly. The other three you grabbed one after the other and hurled them into the trees beside the path; once again, you were thinking only of incapacitating them, but you threw them with such force that their bodies went right through thick tree trunks, taking the trees down with them. A sixth shinobi, who had been hiding in the surrounding trees, fell to his death when the tree he was in fell over.

You paused to get your breath, anger and terror mingling in your eyes, waiting to see where the next attack was coming from. It never came; the three remaining ninja, who had also been hiding in the trees, took off when they saw what you had done to their comrades. Your entire body was shaking, on edge and alert still, but all that happened was Itachi laying a hand on your shoulder, so that you turned to face him.

"You certainly scare the hell out of me," he said with a slight smirk. And then realization hit. You looked around and saw the bodies, the blood, and the fallen trees. You started shaking so badly that your knees gave out and you crumpled to the ground, tears streaming down your face, unable to catch your breath.

"Oh . . . oh no, no . . . I'm . . . I'm sorry, Natasha-san, I only meant it for a joke." There was actually concern in Itachi's usually emotionless voice. He glanced around and then knelt on the path beside you, muttering to himself "I guess this wasn't really the right time for a joke."

He reached out and very carefully placed his hands on your shoulders, and then, rather awkwardly, he drew you into his arms and held you close, rocking slightly, and resting his chin on top of your head. The two of you sat there for awhile until finally your breathing began to even out and your tears to subside. When he noticed this, Itachi spoke. "You were very brave today, Natasha-san, but there is something which you need to understand. For those of us who are ninja, this is our life. Regardless of what side you're on, or what organization you belong to, this is what you face every day: knowing that you will either kill someone, or be killed yourself. This is what we are. Do you understand?"

You pulled away from his chest so that you could look into his eyes. You did understand: being a ninja wasn't a job like being a shopkeeper or a teacher; being a ninja meant facing death every day that you remained alive. You nodded your head to say yes.

"That's my girl." Itachi then placed a finger beneath your chin so that he could tip your face up and plant a warm and tender kiss upon your lips. This surprised you so much, it calmed the last of your hysterics as nothing else could have.

He pulled away to give you a slight smile. "Do you think that you can walk now?" he asked.

You again nodded yes. "Good." He gave you another quick kiss on the tip of your nose. "Then let's get the KFC back to headquarters." He picked up the bucket of chicken and then stood up, holding out a hand to help you to your feet. He continued to hold your hand as you walked away from the scene of your personal battle. You chose not to look back.

**Your kiss was short and sweet, but promised to be followed by many more.**


	5. Kakazu

**YOU DECIDE TO SEE IF KAKAZU WOULD LIKE ANY HELP.**

You had never been all that into Christmas, and you had always enjoyed working with numbers. Besides, even though Kakazu was cold, selfish and a bit scary, he was also enigmatic. Some part of you wished to get to know him better: to figure out just what made him tick. You knocked on the door of his room. "Yes?" he grunted.

"Umm . . . hi, Kakazu-san," you said as you opened the door. "I was wondering if you would like some help doing the books."

"I don't need any help."

"Umm . . . but I really enjoy working with numbers," you persisted, "and I'm really good at it. I even used to be the treasurer for my gardening club. Please let me help." You hoped you didn't sound like you were whining.

Kakazu looked over at you, his eyes running down your body before finally returning to your face. "Fine," he snapped, "you can add up all the columns in the ledger on the table, but if I find any mistakes . . ."

"I understand." You nodded cheerfully and went to sit down in front of the ledger.

For awhile, all was quiet as the two of you worked. Several times you glanced over at him, thinking you weren't going to get to know him any better if you couldn't start a conversation; but every time you looked over, his eyes caught yours and his head nodded meaningfully towards your work. So you always turned back to the books feeling a bit disappointed. Oh well, you weren't sure about what to talk about anyway.

Once, you caught yourself thinking about how Leader-sama had suggested that Kakazu go play Scrooge. This thought made you stifle a giggle! You had read A Christmas Carol a while ago, and now that you thought about it, Kakazu was rather like Ebeneezer Scrooge, at least on the surface: miserly and profit-obsessed. "I guess that would make me Bob Crotchet," you thought as you stifled another giggle, "except that I don't have a family waiting for me to get home, and I'm actually enjoying being here and working . . ." This time you couldn't help yourself and chuckled lightly out loud. But Kakazu only gave you an odd look and returned to what he was doing.

The night drew on and finally, in the distance, you heard a clock strike midnight. At this point Kakazu stood up, stretched, and spoke for the first time in hours; the unexpected sound caused you to jump just a little.

"It's after midnight now," he stated as he walked over to stand behind your chair. He glanced over your shoulder at the work you had done. "Aren't you feeling tired?"

"No . . . not really. Anyway, I really want to at least finish the last bit on this page."

He continued looking over your shoulder as you tried to concentrate on you work, very conscious of his nearness. Then he leaned down, his mouth close enough to your ear for you to feel his warm breath. "Natasha-san, why did you come hear again?" he asked softly.

"Well . . . I . . . ah . . ." Flustered, you turned towards him while simultaneously trying to back away from his overly close proximity. This caused you to run your chair right into his shin! He, however, ignored this and moved to the side, turning you and the chair so that you were facing him.

"Well?" he asked, looking directly into your eyes.

"Well...," you immediately looked away from him; looking anywhere else was better than looking into those beautiful intense eyes. You felt certain that he would be able to read the truth in your own eyes.

"Well, it's just that I'm not really interested in decorating and KFC and Christmas stuff and Deidara is such a crazy guy he actually kind of scares me a bit and I really like working with numbers and . . ."

"And?"

"And I . . . I wasn't sure how complex the organization books might be, but I thought you might like some help and I really do enjoy doing this sort of thing and I really am quite good at it and . . ." This was said all in a rush.

"And?" He placed a finger beneath your chin and gently turned your face back to his; there was nowhere to look but into those eyes.

"And . . ." You took a deep breath. "And . . . I really . . . kind of . . . like you and I just wanted to know you better." A blush crept over your face right up to the roots of your hair.

"You like . . . me?" You nodded. He looked rather confused. "But I'm not . . . good-looking and I'm not nice at all."

This made you giggle. "We're all S-class criminals here; we're not supposed to be nice!" You smiled up at him, feeling happier for having confessed to him. "Anyway, I find you very intriguing and attractive in your own way; your eyes, in particular, are intensely . . . beautiful," you breathed out softly.

You tentatively laid your hand against the stitches which ran away from his mouth and then, taking courage, you reached up and carefully laid your lips against his own. For a moment he held himself stiffly, trying to decide if it was wise to react to your kiss. Then he placed his hands on either side of your face and deepened the kiss, pressing you back into your chair. You could feel the hunger and the desperation in his reaction to you, along with just a little uncertainty; perhaps he wasn't used to having girls actually want to kiss him. Growing bolder, he ran his tongue along the crevice between your lips. And yet, just as you opened you mouth, happy to give him free reign, he suddenly pulled back and stood up.

"Well, if you feel that way," he gave you a slight smile, "and if you don't mind it just being ramen and a walk through the free light display in the park, perhaps we should have that Christmas date after all, and just skip the party here."

"Yes, I would like that very much!" You smiled as you stood up.

"Good . . . Good night, then."

"Good night!" And you smiled to yourself all the way back to your room.

**Your kiss was hungry, but controlled.**


	6. Kisame

**YOU DECIDE TO HELP KISAME:**

"Hey, Kisame-kun! Kisame-kun!" you yelled as you tripped down the path after the large, blue man. "Wait up, Kisame-kun, I'm coming with you!"

The shark-like man paused and waited until you got within earshot. He then heaved a big sigh and glanced heavenward, saying "Gods preserve us, it's the annoying munchkin again."

You caught up and gave him a playful punch on the arm. "Oh, come on, Kisame-kun, you know you'd be lonely if I didn't come with you!"

He looked down at you out of the corner of his eye. "And why do you really want to come along with me, hmm?"

You smiled up at him. "Because I love cake, of course! I couldn't possibly trust you to pick out the tastiest one!"

"Hmph, suit yourself."

He turned and continued down the path. You fell into step beside him. Of course, you were lying, sort of. While you did like cake and cookies and sweets, you liked Kisame even more. While he was terrifying and unmerciful in battle, at home he came across as more of a pussycat. You thought he was a lot of fun, and enjoyed teasing him whenever you got the chance. Still, you got the feeling that his unfriendliness was only on the surface: an armor to keep his inner self protected from the hurts which others might inflict. This idea intrigued you, and made you even more determined to get past the tough skin on the outside and into his heart.

"So, Kisame-kun, what kind of cake are we going to get? Leader-sama said no strawberries, which is gonna make it more difficult; most people expect to have strawberry cake at a Christmas party."

"You know, I keep asking you not to call me that," he groused, looking straight ahead.

"What, 'Kisame-kun'? But it's such a cute name!" you giggled.

"Maybe so, but it doesn't quite fit, does it. I'm not a child."

"Plus it's alliterative, just like poetry," you continued as if you hadn't heard him. "It just rolls right off the tongue! So nope, not gonna quit saying it! You're just going to have to deal with being called Kisame-kun!"

"Hmph, well at least no one else has started using it," he grumbled, making you laugh.

When the two of you reached the village, you headed straight for the bakery. Predictably, there was a long line of people picking up their cakes for Christmas. As the two of you got into line, you glanced at the selection in the refrigerated cases; most of the cakes did appear to involve strawberries. You heaved a big sigh.

"I wonder why Leader-sama didn't want a strawberry cake. Is he allergic, do you think? Or does he just not like strawberries?"

Kisame was trying to yank the collar of his Akatsuki cloak further up in order to hide more of his face; several people had already noticed him and were giving him horrified glances.

"I don't know and I don't care," he growled. "I'm not interested in knowing any more about him than I have to; he's just my boss."

A couple more people, having caught sight of Kisame, had opted to leave their place in line and come back later to get their cake. Kisame ducked even further into his collar and bent his knees, trying to make himself smaller.

"That's the only thing I miss about my home village; people might've been scared of me there, but they at least pretended not to notice me."

You watched a mother dragging her son, who was staring at Kisame's huge sword, out the door. "It might be easier to blend in if you had left Samehada-kun at home, Kisame-kun."

He looked at you, plainly horrified. "I couldn't do that, Samehada would be lonely."

You raised your eyebrows at him with a smirk, and then turned your attention back to the bakery, shrugging your shoulders. "Anyway, the more people who leave, the shorter our wait in line will be . . . Maybe we could get a Bouche de Noel!" you smiled.

"A booze-de-whatsit?"

"A Bouche de Noel. You know, a Yule log: one of those chocolate roll cakes that has cream in the center and chocolate frosting and it's decorated to look like a log. They're really cute!" You paused to look around some more. "Or we could get a gingerbread house, all decorated with gum drops and Tootsie rolls and candy canes. Those are really cute too!"

He looked down at you with a smirk. "What is it with you and 'cute' anyway? Is that your favorite word or something?"

You giggled and shrugged your shoulders again. "I don't know. I just like cute stuff!"

"Well anyway," he turned back to the front, "we'd better not get a gingerbread house, since that's not technically a cake."

"Good point!"

Even with all the people who chose to leave when they caught sight of Kisame, it still was more than forty minutes before the two of you were walking out of the bakery, Kisame triumphantly carrying a beautiful Bouche de Noel wrapped up in a pink bakery box.

"Yay," you sang out, skipping ahead a few steps. "Success, success! A beautiful, delicious Christmas cake and not a strawberry in sight! Leader-sama will be pleased."

"Yeah, yeah, mission completed." Kisame, noticing the worried looks he was getting from passers-by, ducked into his collar again and sped up his steps, hurrying towards the edge of the village. You had to break into a loping run to keep up with him.

When you reached the forest path, you spoke up: "Hey Kisame-kun, can we slow down now? It's not like we're on a real mission where we have to be someplace quickly, you know!" Of course, you were an excellent runner; you could have ran for hours without tiring. Really, you just wanted your time with Kisame to last as long as possible.

Kisame glanced down at you and slowed his pace, but all he said was "I really wish you would quit calling me that."

You giggled lightly. "But I like calling you that; it's a really cute name!"

He came to a stop so unexpectedly that you bumped into his arm. "Yes, I know it's a cute name," he growled in a tone of voice which suggested that he was grasping at his last shred of patience, "and it does not fit. I am not cute. By every standard that humans use to judge attractiveness," his voice was rising, "I am ugly. So would you please," he was practically yelling now, "quit using a name for me which does not suit me!" He glared down at you.

You were surprised. You had never really seen him angry like this. Apparently, the behavior of the people in the village had really bothered him. Then you realized something: the people in the village had upset him, and he was showing you that he was upset. Whether he knew it or not, he was letting you get a little inside. You couldn't help yourself; a completely inappropriate smile spread across your face.

He noticed it and snapped "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh nothing. I just noticed a chink in your armor, that's all." You quickly composed your expression. "Anyway, Kisame-kun, you shouldn't let the stupid people in a stupid village bother you, and you shouldn't assume that because you don't fit some people's standards of attractiveness that means that you know everyone's standards of attractiveness. We're all individuals, and we all have our own ideas about what makes someone beautiful."

"Hmph, I told you not to call me that."

"Dammit, Kisame-kun," you stomped your foot, "you're starting to hurt my feelings! Haven't you been listening to me at all? Don't you have even the slightest inkling about why I always call you 'Kisame-kun'?"

He only turned away, mutinously, with an angry expression upon his face. By now you were feeling so exasperated that you no longer felt in control of yourself. You had to do something to get him to understand, so you marched around in front of him, reached up to grab his face, and brought it down close enough for you to plant a firm kiss on his lips. The skin of his cheeks was rough and prickly against your palms; it reminded you of patting your dad's face when he hadn't shaved for a couple of days. His lips, however, were surprisingly smooth, warm and soft.

He broke out of his shock and pulled away from you. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled, a faint blush staining his cheeks purple.

"That? . . . That!" You threw your hands up in the air and yelped in frustration: "Arghh! That, Kisame-kun, was yet another apparently useless attempt on my part to get it through your thick skull that I like you! I call you a cute name like 'Kisame-kun' because I think you're cute! I think you're beautiful and handsome and gorgeous and . . ." You were glaring up at him, your eyes raking his face. ". . . and I really like your hair. You make me laugh and you make me feel at home in a very strange place and I'm happiest when I'm with you and if stupid Leader-sama would just get a clue and make me your partner you would never be able to get rid of me!" You took a breath in. "Is any of this even getting through to you?"

The expressions on Kisame's face while you were giving your long-winded speech were a wonder to behold. If you had only been paying attention, you would have had a good laugh. What started as anger melted into disbelief, and then uncertainty; this was followed closely by the look of someone gearing up their courage to do something that terrified them. As you finished your last question, hands on your hips and still looking mad beyond belief, Kisame reached out quickly and grabbed your shoulders, dragging you to him and planting his lips on yours. This time he was participating in the kiss: his mouth moving gently against your own; his tongue darting out to tickle your lips. When you opened your mouth on a sigh of contentment to let him in, he wrapped his arms around you and crushed you comfortably between his chest a a tree. The kiss became more passionate, with your tongues dancing in and out of each others mouths. But when you accidentally pricked your tongue on one of his very sharp teeth, and you both tasted the blood, it was he who pulled back in horror.

"Oh, Natasha-chan, I'm so, so sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be silly, baka," you reached up to bring his head back to your own. "Your sharp teeth are part of what make you yourself. It's just a little blood anyway." And you kissed him again.

When you finally pulled away from each other, conscious that it was getting late and you needed to get back before it got too dark, you were both very happy.

"Now we'll just take this cake . . ." began Kisame. "Gah, where's the cake?"

After a few minutes of frantic searching, the two of you found it a little ways back down the path, where Kisame had, apparently, dropped it. The box was a little dirty, but the cake was, thankfully, unharmed. Everyone agreed that it was a very tasty cake at the party the next day. However, the main topic of interest was how unfathomably happy you and Kisame looked. Especially Kisame!

**Your kiss was long, returned with fervor, and just a little painful!**


	7. Nagato Pein

**IN THE END, YOU WENT TO NAGATO/PEIN:**

You sighed as you trudged down the long, dimly-lit hall, wondering if Leader-sama would think that you hadn't done as you were told. Before you were kidnapped, you had been known for being an exemplary ninja: the type of well-disciplined person who followed orders without question, yet could be counted on to take the lead if necessary.

So when Leader-sama had suggested that you help any of the others who needed it, you had dutifully asked each one in turn if they wanted any assistance (or, at least, you had tried to do so: when you tried to find Deidara, you were chagrined to discover that he had already left).

Predictably, neither Kisame nor Itachi had required help (Kisame had actually laughed when you suggested it); after all, they were each only picking up a single food item which each could easily carry on his own. Zetsu's white personality had politely said "No, Thank you," before he headed down the forest path to wherever he seemed to spend most of his days.

By the time you got to Sasori, he already had the Christmas tree up and mostly decorated, thanks to the five puppets which he was manipulating. Neither Hidan nor Kakazu was doing anything to prepare for the Christmas party; therefore helping them was outside of your orders. That just left Tobi.

You paused for a moment, looking down at the dark floor. Should you have asked Tobi if he needed help? "Probably," you thought to yourself. But somehow, despite orders, you couldn't quite bring yourself to go to his room; you did not want to be alone with that man. It wasn't that you minded his behavior particularly: why, on the right occasions, when discipline was meant to be relaxed, you could get quite silly yourself. No, it was more that you didn't trust him. There was something about him which made you think that he was putting on an act, and you were concerned about why he might be doing such a thing.

Consequently, you were now on your way to the one place you actually wished to go: the room of the man whose given name was Nagato, although no one ever seemed to call him that. Leader was the ordinary, and Pein was often used as well, but never had you heard anyone speak his natural given name.

You reached his door and raised a hand to rap smartly upon it.

"Enter."

You stepped inside, closing the door behind you, and caught your breath as your heart began to beat rapidly. Although you had barely admitted it to yourself, for fear of the chaos it would cause in your orderly, disciplined life, you had a crush on Nagato. His bright orange-red hair, multiple piercings, and intense eyes made him look like an angry punk: your exact opposite (which you found rather exciting). Even his normal apperance excited you. His long red hair, and pale white skin. And yet, personality-wise, he was strong, intelligent, and serious: the perfect leader. In truth, the only reason you had not tried to escape - had, instead, become a full member of the Akatsuki - was because of the joy you found in working under him.

"Ah, Natasha, is there a problem?"

"Um . . ." You snapped to attention. "Leader-sama, no one needed my help, so I came to see if you needed me to do anything else." Thinking that there was something odd about that sentence, you felt a blush rise to your cheeks.

Nagato got up from the soft chair where he had been reclining reading a book and listening to quiet seasonal music on his stereo. He quirked an eyebrow at you. "Did you ask everyone?"

"Yes, sir, I did, except . . ." To your horror, you felt your blush deepen under his gaze. You focused on the ceiling and cleared your throat. "Except for Hidan-san and Kakazu-san, sir. As they were not involved in getting ready for the Christmas party, I presumed that they were not included in your orders." You risked a quick glance at him; he didn't look angry, so you guessed you had presumed correctly. "And . . ." You paused, wondering if it was absolutely necessary that you mention Tobi.

"And?" Nagato took a few steps closer to you.

Your innate honesty won out. "And . . . I didn't ask Tobi-san if he needed any help, sir."

To your surprise, this statement caused Nagato to chuckle lightly; you turned your head quickly to catch a glimpse of this unexpected sight. "Yes, he can be quite annoying, can't he. Well, that's . . ."

"Oh no, Leader-sama, it isn't that . . ." you hastened to explain. However, realizing that you had interrupted him, you abruptly snapped your mouth shut, ashamed of having shown him such disrespect.

Nagato's face became closed off and hard. "It isn't _'that'_? Explain to me then, exactly what the problem is, then."

This time, you were certain, you had made him angry; you could feel your knees begin to shake. To counteract this, you drew yourself up straighter, pressing your knees and inner thighs tightly together as you returned you gaze to the ceiling. You took a deep breath, and began to tell of your suspicions: "Leader-sama, I am sorry, but I find that I cannot trust Tobi-san. I believe he is putting on an act." Although you didn't see it, a look of surprise flashed across Nagato's face, which he quickly re-composed.

"Why do you believe this?"

"Well, sir, for one thing his behavior is a little too perfect."

"Natasha, look at me when you are speaking to me." He took a few steps closer; being now within arms' reach, his intimidating presence filled your field of vision. Your legs began to shake still more as you focused on his face, an embarrassing flush creeping back into your cheeks. For the rest of your conversation, you had a difficult time keeping your eyes from wandering under the intensity of his gaze. "And? His behavior is 'too perfect?'"

"Well yes, sir. He is constantly doing his best to annoy everyone . . . with the possible exceptions of you, sir . . . and maybe Zetsu-san. But everyone else he is constantly torturing with happy hyperness. It is a very effective method of keeping people at a distance."

"And you believe this to be an act?"

"Yes, sir. Even idiots get tired, Leader-sama. No one can be happy, hyper, whiny, and then happy again 24 hours a day, 7 days a week . . . And then there is his mask, sir. I realize that it may just be an odd personality quirk, but the fact that he keeps his face hidden from us is rather suggestive of there being something wrong or suspicious going on . . . And . . ."

"And? There's more?"

"Yes sir, I . . ." You paused for a moment, trying to marshal all of your thoughts into some kind of order.

This last concern of yours was something which you had seen unintentionally, one day last week; you had told no one of it, either at the time or since. It had struck fear in your heart, and the worst of it was that you couldn't even explain why it had made you feel afraid.

"You what?"

"I . . . I accidentally saw something . . . last week, sir." You felt that it was necessary to stress the "accidental" part; you didn't want Nagato to think that you were in the habit of spying on other members.

"What did you see?" He spoke softly, but deliberately. You looked down, and then forced yourself to look up again, directly into his eyes; it was important that he understand that you weren't trying to deceive him - that you were telling the truth.

"I saw Tobi-san speaking with someone, Leader-sama. His behavior was much altered: he seemed calm and quite rational; he was also standing quite still . . . He seemed somehow . . ." - you struggled to find words for the feeling which this sight had given you - "somehow sinister, Leader-sama."

Throughout your explanation, Nagato held your gaze, his face emotionless. Now he asked you: "Did you see with whom Tobi was talking?"

"No, sir."

"Did you see Tobi's face?"

"No, he was still wearing his mask."

"Did you hear what they were talking about?"

"Not clearly enough to understand what was going on, sir."

"Well, that's alright then," he said softly, looking away with a slight smile.

"Um, excuse me, Leader-sama?" He glanced back at you, his face once again blank. "Don't you think we should look into it; maybe investigate him a bit? I mean, what if he's planning to do something to hurt the Akatsuki?"

A small smile - the one that made your heart race - played once again upon his lips. "Do something to hurt the Akatsuki?" He gently wrapped his right hand around the back of your head, drawing you closer. "That's what I like about you, Natasha. You have such a loyal heart." He touched his lips lightly to your forehead.

You pulled back, shocked. "Leader-sama?"

He chuckled. "That was rather undisciplined of me, wasn't it. Did I break your rules for behavior between a leader and his subordinate?"

You nodded slowly; somehow, the rules were beginning to seem rather unimportant. Mesmerized by his eyes, you hesitantly reached out a hand and laid it against his cheek. He raised one eyebrow, looking down at you. And then suddenly, as if uncaged, all of your feelings for him rushed through you, begging to be shared. You reached up with your other hand, grabbed his face, and pulled it close as you smashed your lips against his. Your bottom lip, cut slightly by his piercing, began to bleed; but you didn't care as you moved your lips hungrily upon his mouth, all order thrown to the winds.

He also placed his hands on either side of your face and held you back a little. "Hush now," he said, looking deep into your eyes. "There's no need to be so desperate." He stroked your full lower lip with his thumb, rubbing the blood away. And then he placed his lips against yours, moving them slowly and tenderly. You sighed at the sweetness of it all, allowing his tongue to slip into your mouth and softly stroke your own. Your arms, without any thought on your part, curled around his neck, and his slid around your back: pulling you closer, into the safe haven of his embrace. This was ecstasy; this was heaven.

Eventually, the striking of a clock pulled the two of you out of your shared world.

"6:00," he said, looking down at you. "Time for dinner."

"Yes, Leader-sama," you stated, rapidly looking away and striving to regain your usual composure.

"You go first then." He released you from his arms, and you stumbled a little: you hadn't realized how much of your body weight he had been supporting. "I'll come later."

"Yes, Leader-sama." You turned and walked towards the door, conscious that you were moving a little unsteadily.

He watched you go. "Of course, Natasha, you understand that none of this can go beyond these four walls."

You stopped, your hand on the doorknob, and glanced at him over your shoulder. "Of course not, Leader-sama. I will take this to my grave." You turned once more to the door.

"Natasha," he called out to you again. "Do you think that . . . maybe . . . when we're within these four walls . . . that you might, please, just call me Nagato?"

You could hear the pleading and the hope in his voice, and your heart suddenly filled with so much joy that you could barely contain it. You turned all the way back around to face him. "I would be honored to do so . . . Nagato." And you flashed him a beautifully brilliant smile before opening the door and heading to dinner.

**Your kiss broke every rule they ever taught you at the academy . . . and it felt wonderful!**


	8. Sansori

**YOU DECIDE TO GIVE SASORI A HAND:**

As the other Akatsuki members dispersed to do their Christmas party jobs, you walked right up to Sasori, gave a small bow (wishing to be respectful) and asked him: "Sasori-danna, may I please help put up the Christmas tree?"

He looked up at you from where he was sitting on the sofa, tinkering with the elbow joint on one of his puppets trying to make it move more smoothly- and shrugged his shoulders. "Do as you please." He nodded to a few boxes sitting over in the corner. "The tree and decorations are all over there. You may get started with it, and I will send some of my puppets over to help, once I am finished with this."

"You're not going to help, Sasori-danna?" He glanced up at you again, perhaps just a tad annoyed that you hadn't already left to start setting up the tree.

"Of course I will be helping; I will be controlling the puppets. But three or four puppets can get things done much faster than just me by myself."

"Umm, yes, I suppose you're right." You blushed slightly as you turned away and walked over to the pile of boxes, conscious of being a little bit disappointed. You had hoped that decorating the tree together might give you a chance to get to know Sasori better. For reasons which you could not fathom, you were very drawn to Sasori. He was an enigma to you: a complex puzzle which you longed to be able to solve and to understand. But he was so distant and unapproachable, showing little emotion beyond impatience and annoyance (and once, though you shuddered still when you thought of it, anger).

You sighed as you opened up the box which contained the tree.

You sighed again a few minutes later as you sorted the branches into piles according to size. Sasori looked up from what he was doing and asked "Why do you keep sighing?" with just a small hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Sasori-danna," you stated as you continued to work at your task. "I was just wishing that we could use a real tree, you know? Maybe a nice Douglas fir or Fraser fir."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing, they're easier to put up because they don't have to be assembled. And for another thing, they smell really good." You shoved the metal pole which stood in for a tree trunk into the stand and tightened the screws. "A fir tree's scent is one of the strongest smells of Christmas in my memories: the one odor that will always bring the holidays to mind." You glanced over your shoulder, wondering if Sasori was even listening to you ramble. "What do you think, Sasori-danna?"

He continued to fiddle with the puppet on his lap. "I have not got an opinion on that; I do not have a sense of smell."

"Oh." You began placing branches in the slots on the tree 'trunk', sorry that another conversational gambit had failed. What could you say, you wondered, to draw him out?

"Hn, much better." Sasori had apparently finished his repairs, as he placed the puppet upon the ground beside the others which he had been working on earlier. At the touch of his hands, all three sprang to life and walked easily over to the tree, where they also began fitting branches into slots. Connected by thin strings of chakra to Sasori's fingertips, they moved more stiffly than real human beings, but less jerkily than any other puppets you had ever seen. He truly was a master.

"Hey, Sasori-danna?" You glanced over your shoulder at where he sat lazily on the sofa, one knee pulled up and being used as a chin rest, his fingers dangling over the edge and barely twitching as he maneuvered the puppets. "Are all your puppets made of wood like these? Because if so you truly must be an absolutely splendid artist; their faces are so beautiful, it almost brings tears to my eyes."

"Hn, you do not know the half of it: my most beautiful pieces, my very best and most favorite puppets are humans."

"Humans?" You turned back to the tree and, noticing that most of the branches were now in place, stooped over another box in order to begin getting out ornaments. Luckily someone had the forethought to buy a pre-lit tree, so you didn't have to struggle with strings of lights.

"Yes, the most exquisite human corpses, lovingly and carefully preserved."

"Corpses?" Your eyes bulged as your stomach flopped over painfully, but, being a true ninja, you hid your reaction well. "I didn't realize one could make puppets from corpses." You hoped you sounded nonchalant.

"One cannot make puppets from corpses; only I can do that!" and your ears caught the hint of pride in his mostly inflection-less voice. Your brain quickly buried your horror of the idea of using dead humans as puppets, as you gloried in the fact that you had caught another of Sasori's emotions: another piece of the puzzle!

"So . . . are you a corpse?" Convinced that you had your expression under control, you glanced at him over your shoulder. "You certainly are very beautiful."

He smirked slightly. "No, I'm not a corpse puppet; other materials work better if one wishes to add weapons and such. Although, I suppose you could say my head is a corpse's." He looked up at you with a small smile; you had turned around completely, an ornament forgotten in your hand. "It does look very human, does it not?"

You felt that the question gave you license to examine him more closely, as you had been wishing to do for weeks. You crossed the room and leaned down to look at his face, while he sat up straighter and watched you with a slight air of expectation. "Yes, your face does look very human: there are no seams or obvious joints like on the other puppets' faces." His smile broadened slightly. "And you have real facial expressions, although they don't cover your whole face."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like this!" You pointed at your own face and smiled the biggest smile you could: your eyes crinkled up merrily, your white teeth glistened, and cute dimples appeared in each cheek, along with a slight blush.

His own expression changed to a small smirk. "No, I cannot smile like that, and even if I could, I would not. Too many of that expression might wrinkle the skin, and then I would have to change my face in order to preserve my beauty. I would rather not do that; I like this face."

"I suppose so," you sighed with a feeling of disappointment, but your curiosity about him stood you in good stead, allowing you to bounce back.

"Your skin is exquisite, Sasori-danna, so pale and smooth." You started to reach out a tentative finger, suddenly wishing to stroke that soft-looking skin, but you caught yourself. "Sasori-danna, can you feel anything with that beautiful skin?" you asked, your outstretched finger forgotten in mid-air.

"Feel anything?" He was still looking into your eyes, that faint smile upon his face. "Of course not. How could I? To what would the nerves be connected?"

"Yes, I guess that makes sense." You hesitated another second, and then very gently and

carefully laid your index finger against the silken skin of his cheek. "Nothing, truly?" you asked.

His face showed no surprise, and he gave his head a slight shake. "No, nothing."

"But . . . but, Sasori-danna," you started to feel tears well up in your eyes, "that's so sad." You cupped his cheek with your quivering hand. "How can you keep your humanity if you can't even feel another human's touch?"

He glanced down at your hand, "You are shaking," and then looked back in your eyes, "and you are about to cry. I do not understand. What is so sad? I have eternal beauty; I have incredible battle skills. What am I missing?"

In answer, you surprised yourself by leaning further forward. You brought up your other hand, dropping the ornament which you had been holding all this time, to cup his other cheek. Feeling like you were watching a movie in slow motion, you found yourself pressing your lips against his icy cold mouth as you heard the ornament shatter on the floor. You moved your mouth on his with an unexpected urgency, sweeping your tongue in to twine with his, not even caring that you were, in essence, kissing a corpse. Thoughts rushed madly through your brain: "Feel something, dammit, feel something! There's gotta be some part of you that's still human somewhere. There's gotta be! You're not an automaton; you're not just a puppet!" You felt like your head was full of people screaming; you were so desperate to prove to yourself that Sasori was still human. You leaned in even more, trying to deepen the kiss further. You pressed his head into the sofa cushions and sat on his lap without even realizing it; pleading thoughts continued to echo through your brain: "Please, please . . ."

And then, almost simultaneously, two things happened. First, when you sat down on his lap, you unconsciously brought your hands to his chest. There, you were surprised to feel a strong pulse thumping rapidly against your right palm: a heartbeat! And immediately upon recognizing what you were feeling, you heard a loud crash behind you. You gave a slight jump and broke the kiss to look around. All three puppets were lying on the floor, their chakra life-lines severed. You turned quickly to look back at Sasori. He was staring up at you impassively, his eyes expressionless. You then looked down and ripped open his Akatsuki cloak, revealing a bare, beautifully formed wooden chest with an odd white circle on the left side. You laid your hand on top of it and, again, felt a heart beating.

"That cylinder contains what is left of my humanity." You looked up quickly and caught a glimpse of strong emotion in his eyes; you rather thought it might be anger. "I had to keep my heart in order to keep my chakra. I suppose my memories and my soul if you believe in such things reside there as well. It is the part of me that makes me myself."

Your eyes widened and you looked down again at the white circle. You gently caressed it and, leaning down, you brushed your lips over it quickly. You then carefully got off of his lap and stood up. You looked down at Sasori with triumph blazing in your eyes. "No matter how much of you is made of other materials, Sasori-danna, you are not a puppet. You are still a human being. I wanted to make you feel something, and I succeeded!"

You turned to leave, planning to go find a broom so that you could clean up the broken ornament. But you stopped when you heard a light chuckle behind you.

"Perhaps you are right, Natasha-san." Sasori had returned to his puppets, which were now putting the final touches - garlands of red and gold beads - on the tree. "One thing is certain. I would never turn you into a puppet. You are very beautiful, but your beauty is of the fleeting, ephemeral kind: it shows at its best when your emotions play across your face." You blushed deeply and continued out the door.

**Your kiss was desperate, but tinged with hope.**


	9. Tobi

**YOU DECIDED TO HELP TOBI:**

"Hey Tobi-kun, wait up," you called out to the scruffy-haired man who was heading towards his room. "Can I help make paper chains too?"

He turned around. "Natasha-chan wants to make paper chains too? Yay, Tobi would love that!" He glomped you in a big bear hug, and then grabbed your hand, pulling you towards his room. "Tobi has paper and glue in his room. Tobi and Natasha-chan can make lots and lots and lots of paper chains together!"

You smiled as Tobi dragged you down the corridor. You loved how enthusiastic and optimistic he was. When you had joined up a month ago, you had noticed him right away; mostly because the other members seemed to pick on him a lot. He was always getting slapped or yelled at, and yet he always did his best and was positive no matter what task they threw at him. So what if he was a little simple and childish; it wasn't like he could help it: maybe something horrible had happened to make him that way. Yet he still kept a happy attitude over all, and you really liked that. You had taken to defending him whenever the others started picking on him; you didn't think that they were being fair. Consequently, you had earned Tobi's friendship (which came mostly in the form of bone-crushing bear hugs), along with jeers of derision from the other members. (Admittedly, once they realized that Tobi had attached himself to you and was now less likely to pester them, they were grateful and became friendlier.)

"Natasha-chan, look, it's Tobi's room!" He swung the door wide to let you pass in.

"Yes, I know Tobi-kun; I've been here before! The craft supplies are in this cupboard, right?" You started digging through the cupboard looking for paper chain-making supplies. Tobi closed the door behind you, and you thought you heard a second soft click, but chalked it up to your imagination.

"Look Tobi-kun, here's the stuff we need!" You held up a pile of multicolored construction paper, a bottle of glue and some scissors. "Since we only have one pair of scissors, why don't I cut strips of paper and you can glue them together in chains?"

"'Kay!" Tobi plopped down on the floor beside you to wait while you cut enough strips to get him started.

For awhile the two of you worked in comparative silence. You knew that many of the members found Tobi annoying because he talked so much, but you had lately noticed that he seemed to become much less talkative when he was really concentrating. Soon you had cut the entire pile of construction paper into strips, so you began to make a paper chain too.

"Wow, Tobi-kun!" You looked at the long multicolored chain which surrounded him like a festive boa-constrictor, and then you looked at the large pile of paper strips still waiting to be made into loops. "I cut way too many strips; maybe I shouldn't have used all of the construction paper. We're gonna have enough paper chains to decorate the whole headquarters!"

"That's okay, Natasha-chan. Then everywhere will be Christmas-y! So pretty!" Tobi continued looping and gluing as did you. The two of you lapsed into silence again.

When the paper chains snaked not only around both you and Tobi, but all around the room, onto the bed, and over the cupboard, and still there was a pile of paper strips waiting to be used, you began to think maybe it was time to quit.

"You know, Tobi-kun, I think these chains are really long enough now. Let's go put them up, and we can save the rest of the strips for making chains some other time."

Tobi looked around his chain-filled room. "Tobi likes making paper chains!"

"I like making them too, Tobi-kun! And you're really good at making them! But I still think we've made enough for putting up today."

"Tobi likes something else too!"

"Hmm, what's that, Tobi-kun?"

"I like you, Natasha-chan." You froze as a frisson of . . . fear or perhaps anticipation ran down your spine. The voice speaking was different: deeper and richer somehow. And you could count on one hand the number of times you had heard Tobi use personal pronouns.

"T-t-tobi-kun?" You looked over at him, conscious that you had started shaking.

"I've decided, Natasha-chan. I am going to trust you with some of my secret."

You stared at him, dumbfounded. "Y-y-your secret? Why?"

He disentangled himself from the paper chain and moved close to you, his bright orange mask right up in your face. "Because I trust you. You've leaped to my defense many times, and have shown that you cared about me and my feelings when no one else has." The orange mask came even closer, almost touching your nose. "I've also really enjoyed 'playing' with you, Natasha-chan!" You pulled your head back, half-intrigued and half-terrified.

He sat back on his heels, giving you some space. "However, I won't tell or show you anything, if you would be more comfortable not knowing."

You looked down at the floor, uncertain. For the first time ever, Tobi was actually scaring you. He seemed like a completely different person, one you didn't know. And yet, now that you thought about it, you felt like some part of you had been expecting this: the way he always wore that silly mask, and the constant annoying behaviors which kept most people at a distance. Somehow, it all added up. But then again, just because Tobi was speaking and acting differently didn't mean he wasn't the same Tobi who was your friend.

"Having had to keep such a big secret," you thought, "he must've been awfully lonely. Sometimes it's easier to bear this sort of thing if you can share the burden."

You made up your mind, "Tobi-kun," you began, "I'm . . . kind of scared right now . . . but, if it will help you to be happier and to feel better . . . then, please, I would like to hear however much you wish to tell me."

He chuckled. "I rather thought that you would react that way." His hands went to the bottom of the orange mask and slowly lifted it up over his head revealing, beneath his shock of messy, black hair, a face of ruined handsomeness. His left eye was missing, and much of his face was badly scarred; yet the straight line of his nose, the smooth skin of his cheek, the finely molded lips all spoke of one-time great beauty. And his remaining eye, fringed by thick black lashes, was large, deep and liquid; you could feel yourself being drawn in, and looked more closely. His eye was red: a Sharingan eye.

"You're an U . . ." you started.

"Hush." He laid an index finger across your lips with a smirk. "I see you've noticed, but I think I won't give you my true name just yet." His expression softened. "Please, let me be just Tobi-kun for a little while longer." Staring into his face, you nodded slowly. "Thank you," he breathed, and he leaned forward.

Replacing his finger with his own lips, his mouth began to move against yours, warm and unexpected. He placed his hands on your shoulders and pulled you closer, soothing your shaking body even as your heart began to pound painfully. He made the kiss more dominant, forcing his tongue past your lips and into the soft recesses of your mouth where it tangled with your own tongue. He pulled you even closer, wrapping his arms tightly around you as if he wanted to make you a part of his own body, the unremembered paper chain crushed between you. You felt your hands creep, of their own volition, up around his neck where your fingers twisted in his shaggy hair. This caused him to smile against your lips, emitting a small, yummy noise – "mmmmm" - as he leaned over with you in his arms, laying you down on the floor.

You suddenly heard a ripping sound, and he pulled away from you to look at the mangled section of paper chain.

"Oh dear, we're going to have to fix that." He looked at you, still laying, half-shocked, half-surprised, on the floor. "I guess that's enough for today, but," his grin widened, "I hope that you'll 'play' with me again another day." You nodded mutely, staring at his face, memorizing it, your heart still beating much too fast. "Good!" He deftly removed the ruined piece of paper chain, and then slid his mask back in place. He gathered up the many lengths of paper chain, unlocked the door and ran down the hall yelling, "Tobi and Natasha-chan made lots and lots and lots of paper chains! Tobi's a good boy!"

You sat up, shook yourself, and then gathered up the remaining paper chains. You ran after Tobi, yelling "Wait, Tobi-kun, you forgot some!" You still felt very confused, and you were conscious of just a small twinge of fear, but you also felt really happy!

**Your kiss was forceful, and just a little scary!**


	10. Zetsu

**YOU DECIDE TO SEE IF ZETSU WOULD LIKE SOME HELP:**

"Hey, Zetsu-san," you called as the oddly black and white plant-man headed towards the door. "Where are you picking up the poinsettias? Would you like some help carrying them?"

Zetsu turned so that he could see who was calling him past the Venus-flytrap-like leaves which surrounded his head and shoulders. "Oh . . . Natasha-san, it's you," he stated in a polite but subdued voice: his white personality. "I only have to go to my greenhouse to get them, but an extra set of hands would be helpful. There are ten plants."

He turned and continued out the door, not looking back to see if you were following him. Of course, you were following right behind. You had a bit of a crush on Zetsu: ever since you were a child you had loved plants and felt that each one had a personality, even if they didn't have souls. So you had been positively thrilled to meet a plant which did have a soul and could talk to you in a way which your daisies and snapdragons never could. The fact that he was a carnivorous plant made you a little nervous; and that black personality of his could be downright terrifying. But you were too optimistic a person to be put off by such flaws.

You ran forward a few steps so you could walk beside Zetsu up the stony path to his greenhouse. "So, Zetsu-san, I didn't know you had your own greenhouse. What sorts of plants do you grow there? Carnivorous ones, I'll bet, like yourself? Or maybe plants that Sasori-san can use to make poisons?"

Zetsu glanced down at you. "Why is the little brat trying to talk to us?" The black personality emerged.

"Be polite; she is simply coming with us to help carry the poinsettias."

"Hmph, maybe she could help more by becoming a food source; she's a little scrawny, but then I'm sure I'd have the strength to carry all ten plants myself."

"Hush, you're scaring her." He gave you a small smile. "I'm sorry Natasha-san. He's only teasing you, you know."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I know you won't eat me!" You favored him with a huge grin.

"Really? How can you be so sure?" asked the black side.

"Well, you only eat stuff that's already dead, right?"

"It wouldn't be that hard to kill you, little girl," the black one sneered.

"I'm not afraid," you boasted. "After all, I am a trained ninja; I know how to protect myself. Anyway, presumably Leader-sama told you not to eat other Akatsuki members, or you would have eaten them all already!"

"Leader-sama did not have to say such a thing to me," the white one's voice informed you as he stood up a little straighter. "I don't just eat humans indiscriminately you know, and it isn't as if I don't enjoy other meats as well. It's just when I see a fallen foe I see no reason not to indulge myself in the treat of human flesh. It's really kind of like recycling; I'm helping to keep the planet clean!"

He seemed a bit huffy, and you hastened to smooth over any feathers (or leaves, as the case may be) which you might have inadvertently ruffled. "I'm sorry, Zetsu-san. I didn't mean to offend you; I was being flippant." You looked down, your cheeks tinged with pink. "And of course I know you wouldn't eat me because I trust you, Zetsu-san! Would I have offered to help you if I didn't think I would live through the encounter?"

He glanced down at you, nonplussed and unsure of what to say. You, however, looked ahead and noticed that you were coming to a clearing with a large greenhouse in it. "Oh my, it's enormous!" you squealed happily.

Once inside, your first impulse was to dash around looking at all the beautiful plants, but Zetsu held you back with a few words: "Many of the plants in this part of the greenhouse are dangerous. Please do not touch or examine anything without asking me first."

"Please then, won't you give me a tour?" you pleaded with a smile. "It won't take long to get the poinsettias to the headquarters. We have time, don't we?"

"She wants to see our plants?" His black personality sounded oddly uncertain.

"So it would seem. Should we show them to her?"

"I . . . guess so."

He led you through the various rooms of the greenhouse, telling you about each plant: where it came from, and what it was for. As you had anticipated, many of the plants were carnivorous or poisonous or otherwise dangerous. For instance, he showed you one small, wide-leafed plant which produced a secretion which could dissolve bones. You were very surprised, however, when he opened a door to show you neat rows of vegetable plants, and even a couple of potted citrus trees down at the end.

"So, do all the vegetables that we eat come from here?" you asked as you looked in awe at the beautiful plants.

"Well, many of them do." You turned to look at him and noted the merest hint of pink in his white cheek. Was he proud, or embarrassed, or both, you wondered.

"You know, when I was a kid, I used to grow lots of vegetables, and flowers too! I was even in a gardening club for awhile." You smiled up at him.

"What kinds of flowers did you grow?" he asked softly.

"Oh, the usual kinds: foxgloves and marigolds and coreopsis and bee balm; lots of herbs too. And I had the most beautiful 'Kronegan von Danemark' rosebush; I got it for my birthday when I was seven! Not really your sort of plants, though," you said, looking down and blushing at your own enthusiasm.

"Really?" He pushed open the last door in the greenhouse to reveal a small room crowded with summer flowers and herbs; there were even two topiary rosebushes on either side of a bench at the far end of the room.

"Oh Zetsu-san, it's beautiful," you breathed.

"Hmph, it's not like I like these things," groused the black side.

"Well, I like them," stated the white side with a more obvious blush.

You rushed into the room and started to look over the flowers, recognizing most of them and greeting them merrily in your heart as if they were all very old, very dear friends whom you had feared you would never see again. Zetsu watched you carefully, your happiness mirrored on your face, and considered his next words.

"Natasha-san, if you promised to only come here when I was here, you could help to take care of the plants here. You could even help me decide which vegetables and flowers to grow . . . um, that is, if you were interested in doing so . . ." He was now blushing so hard that the white half of his face was almost peach colored.

"Really?" You turned quickly to look at him. "You'd let me come help take care of the plants with you?"

He nodded his head, smiling slightly at the joy suffusing your face. "Oh, Zetsu-san!" Your enthusiasm ran away with you as you launched yourself at him and glomped the poor fellow so hard that he fell down with you on top of him. "I just like you so much I don't know what to do!"

"You like . . . us?" asked the white personality in confusion.

"Which of us do you like?" asked the black personality in quick succession.

You smiled down at him, blushing madly (having just realized your position), and stated "Actually, I think I like you both!" Then, noting his odd expression which mingled confusion, horror and hope, you gently laid your lips against his own black and white pair. They were soft and warm and you noticed that he smelled wonderfully of fresh-plowed earth and green growing things. "Umm, yep, I definitely like you both!" You smiled into the kiss as his lips began to respond to yours.

All ten poinsettias were safely transported back to headquarters, and the two of you had a great time at the party, sitting in a corner and discussing additions to next year's garden!

**Your kiss was soft and tender!**


End file.
